The Last Summer
by pedallingbackwards
Summary: It's supposed to be the time of their lives, so why does it feel like everything is falling apart? Eight different points of view, documenting the one summer that will change their worlds forever. Rated M for adult themes.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyers

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 **Author Note:** This story was once called "What Do You Want From Me?" and it was written by "Anti-social-psyche". With permission from the authors, I have adopted this story and sought to re-write it. There are still elements similar to the original, but a lot of the ideas are original.

* * *

 **CH I**

 **Bella Pov**

It's an hour past midnight. The pale moon is shining through the open curtains, inviting a whimsical light into this dim-lit living room. I'm on the couch settled between two familiar boys.

One of them is occupied with packing his bowl with marijuana. His wolf-grey eyes are tinged red, showcasing the consequences our favorite avocation has taken on our bodies. His physical movements are sluggish, bearing no resemblance to the fast-paced actions of everyone else in this house.

The other boy is sitting beside me with his cellphone in hand. He's paying less attention to Edward's slow preparation of the pipe, and more attention to the intoxicated girls who writhe and dance across the room. His snapchat is busy replaying a continuous loop of Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory gyrating against each other.

I'm not sure if he's too high to realize he's not recording any longer, or if he's too entranced by Jessica's perfectly sculpted, J-Lo booty to actually care.

I feel a frown preparing to grip my features. Everything is moving in slow-motion so it takes a while for my mouth to actually fall. When the corner of my lips curve downward, the rest of my face follows suit.

My brows furrow and my nose wrinkles. I cross my arms and shoot him a menacing sideways glance. "Could you be any more of a pig, Jasper? You're literally the grossest human being to ever walk the face of the planet."

"Am I?" Jasper's smooth voice is melodic, even when it's crushed underneath the sound of blaring rap music. "That's really hurtful coming from you, Isabella."

At the sound of our voices, Edward lifts his head and tilts it slowly to the side. His dark eyes sweep over my face. When he finally speaks, his voice is thoughtfully laconic. "Are you upset because Jasper isn't giving all one hundred percent of his attention to you, Bella?"

An ugly sound travels up my throat and turns into a scoff. I roll my eyes at Edward's troubling assumption, though it may or may not be true. "I could care less about Jasper or his affinity for small-town whores."

Edward offers me a chuckle that indicates he is unimpressed with my claim, but he does not find the desire to challenge me any further. Instead he holds out his hand, asking for permission to use my pink unicorn lighter. I watch him intently, savoring the daunted intuition that the flame from the lighter casts over his face. Edward holds the fire at the end of the pipe and takes a long pull. His head drops against the frame of the couch.

"What's funny?" I wonder, accepting the pipe when Edward passes it in my direction.

His mouth opens slowly and he fills the air with wispy "o" shapes of smoke. He looks at me casually and lifts his shoulders. "You're funny, Bella."

I hold the pipe to my mouth but refrain from taking my hit. I'm waiting on Edward to elaborate on what he means. He doesn't of course. His eyes close and he begins to nod his head to the music that's filling the room. I don't think he wants to elaborate, especially not when he's high.

Edward isn't the type who explains himself often.

"Are you ready to get fucked up?" Jasper asks naughtily, patting his lap as an invitation to close the space between us.

Jasper grates my nerves, but he knows I love him. I roll my eyes again but I don't try to disguise the smile that wants to bloom from within me. I scoot across the couch cushion, and Jasper wraps a lazy arm around my waist. He pulls me against his warm body, pressing a soft kiss to the apple of my cheek.

Edward hands us the bag of weed, and Jazz shot-guns a few hits with me. By the third one I am feeling wavy. The room is vibrating. My senses have numbed and enhanced simultaneously. My vision is a bit blurry from the cloud of smoke, but my hearing has sharpened with a distinct acuity. I can hear Lauren's loud, nasally laugh as if she's sitting right next to me. It lingers in my ear canals like a horrible song on repeat.

The living room is hot. There are a lot of people here expending body heat. The rambunctious energy creates sweat and heat waves, causing Edward's apartment to feel more like a club than a humble abode.

I mean, Edward's apartment _is_ basically a club. During the school year, he threw parties almost every weekend. No one in their right mind ever missed a get-together thrown by him. He's become sort of a Fork's High legend. Even before he got his own apartment, he used to throw epic parties in his parent's house whenever they went out of town.

Now that graduation is over and summer has started; Edward's made it his mission to throw the biggest, most memorable parties over the break. This is our last summer before everyone goes away to college. We have to make this one count.

"Where are Rosalie and Alice?" I ask suddenly, twisting my neck towards the front door as if it will magically open and reveal the two girls.

Jasper lifts his shoulders into a half-hearted shrug. His eyelids are resting low, but I can still see his gaze circling the room. After a few seconds, he loses interest in his search and redirects his attention onto the weed on top of the coffee table.

Edward hands him a pack of cherry ciagrellos, leaving Jasper with the task of breaking down the blunt. This is their fourth round of smoking tonight. Instead of using the pipe I guess they want to roll up now. I can tell they're vibing. Jazz and Edward are feeling themselves. I'm trying to get on the level they are on, but I want to wait for my girls to arrive before I get _that_ fucked up.

"Where are James, Em, and Jacob?" I look at Edward specifically when I ask this question.

He should be able to give me a decent answer. Emmett is his older brother and the two of them live together. Their parents actually bought them this apartment for Em's eighteenth birthday. It was their way of bribing Emmett into completing his first two years of college in Forks. Though he'd originally planned to attend school in Seattle; Emmett just couldn't give up the chance of sharing his very own bachelor's pad with his brother.

Edward and Emmett are eleven months apart and two peas in a pod. They've always had an extremely close relationship, even when we were all kids in primary school. I've lived next door to their parents since second grade, which is the year we all were introduced. The three of us, along with Jasper and Jacob, have been best friends for almost a decade.

We met Alice, Rosalie, and James in middle school. It doesn't feel as though I've known any of them longer than the other. To me, it feels like we've all been best friends since birth. It's not even actually a friendship any longer. We're a family.

"Oh, that's right." Edward says; voice sleepy and low. "Emmett went to pick them up."

I laugh softly to myself. "I guess nobody wanted to be a designated driver tonight."

"Everybody's crashing here?" Jasper arches his honey-colored eyebrow in Edward's direction, splitting the cigarello down the middle with his finger.

I watch as he dumps all of the tobacco within onto the coffee table. It somehow reminds me of a medical surgery. The tobacco looks like guts, spilling onto the wooden table in various shades and hues. He picks up several crumbs of weed and begins to refill the cigarello.

I bite my tongue to stifle my laughter because Jasper never grinds the weed. He takes the pieces exactly as they come in the bundle, stuffing them into the cigarello even if they are oversized. This particular habit of his always pisses Edward off. Apparently, overstuffing the blunt is a terrible waste of weed _and_ money.

It's only a matter of time before Edward notices and launches into one of his heated rants.

"Maybe." Edward's still leaning his head back on the couch.

He isn't paying attention to anything but the ceiling. I look up at the plastered drywall and try to find something fascinating within its design but I cannot. I wonder what Edward's hazy brain is making him see. Are there hidden decorations? Are there colors that I can't pick up on?

Whatever it is, it has Edward stuck.

He still hasn't realized that Jasper has overstuffed the blunt.

"Bella Baby!"

My ears perk up at the sound of a new voice. It's frilly and high-pitched like a little elf or a sprite. I match the voice to a face almost immediately. To my right, Alice is approaching the congregation Edward, Jazz, and I have built. The rest of the crew falls into step behind her.

"Speaking of the devil." Jasper says playfully, dodging Alice's blows when she reaches for him.

"I was starting to think you wouldn't show."

Alice makes a face at my statement, as if I'm insane for suggesting that she'd miss this party. She plops down on the loveseat that's positioned crosswise from us. Jacob sits beside her and James sits on the arm. Rosalie and James fight for the empty spot on the recliner. Emmett decides to remain standing.

"I'd be crazy not to come." Alice replies. "I made bets on who Lauren would end up fucking tonight."

"That's brilliant." I throw my head back and laugh rambunctiously, it rumbles out my belly and shakes the entire house. The others chuckle with me. "We should make wagers right now."

We all shift our eyes to the left. Lauren and Jessica are still huddled together begging for attention, pretending that groping each other in time with the music is actual dancing. Their sweaty hands are all over each other. I can tell they've been drinking and smoking. They're so discombobulated and clumsy-looking that I fear one of them may topple over.

What's making it worse is that they genuinely believe they look sexy.

I turn back and face Alice with a knowing expression. We both take our time surveying our group, lingering on the boys who've been known to fall for Lauren's charm. Edward, Jasper, and James have all slept with Lauren Mallory. Together and on separate occasions. She's the only girl in Forks who takes pride in having a promiscuous reputation. I think the fact that she doesn't care what people think of her is what makes her appeal so striking.

"I bet twenty it's going to be James." I say challengingly, causing James's dark-blue eyes to glow.

All five of the boys are known to be friendly with the ladies, but out of them all, James is the one who has absolutely no boundaries. He's fucked Lauren, Jessica, and Lauren's cousin Angela numerous times. The three girls are best friends and run in the same clique, which is hilarious considering how sprung they all are over James.

He doesn't care that he's caused competition within their friendship. James barely gives any girl an afterthought when he's finished with them. That's the way he's always been. Unreachable. Untouchable.

I flash him a teasing smile, to which he gobbles right up. "She's your favorite, huh James?"

"After a while, they all seem the same."

Emmett and Jacob laugh in response, I roll my eyes, and James shrugs. Alice continues going down the line of boys, stopping to tease both Edward and Jasper. Everyone chimes in and makes crude jabs at them. It's all fun and games until Jasper takes the joke too far.

"I bet a hundred dollars myself that she'll fuck me." He says this with nothing but confidence, licking the edges of the blunt to seal it closed.

I am immediately offended. For one, I'm sitting right on his lap. For two, everyone knows that Jasper and I have been fooling around since sophomore year. The relationship we have is not new. It's been established for years. That's why I hate it when he talks so freely about his sex life in front of me. I know we're just friends, but out of respect, I'd expect him to be more modest.

Jasper doesn't pay any mind to my displeasure. His focus is only on sealing the blunt, but he's stuffed it too much, so he's having a difficult time. During his absent-minded phase, he continues egging on the joke. "Probably within the next forty-five minutes."

The others are still laughing. They try not to let the situation between me and Jasper affect them. The boys have "guy talk" all the time, even though they're aware that Jasper's relationship with me is complicated. No one treats me differently or Jasper for that matter, which is actually what I honestly prefer.

If they felt uncomfortable talking about sex in front of me; I wouldn't know about half the girls that Jasper has fucked from our school. Our crew doesn't keep secrets from each other. That's why It's nice being their friend, but at the same time, I can't help how I feel about Jasper's decisions.

I'm emotional … that's just me.

"You'd love that. Wouldn't you?" My voice is edgy when it comes out of my mouth.

I remove myself from Jasper's lap, and squeeze back into my previous spot between him and Edward. I don't tell him that I'm upset with him because he already knows. He knew I'd be upset before he even said it. That's the thing about Jasper. He likes to play mind-games.

Jazz is the type of person who's always in tune with everyone else's emotions. He uses that intuition to his advantage. It runs through him like the blood that runs through his veins. That's why there has never been a girl to successfully evade Jasper's charisma. Eventually, he always gets what he wants.

Sadly, I'm not even an exception to that rule.

When he does not respond to my question, I narrow my eyes and pick at him further. "Lauren has fucked everybody. Literally everybody!"

All of the boys laugh, but only Jasper comments. "What's your point?"

"Why would you want to put your dick anywhere near her?!"

He opens his mouth to make a witty reply, but Rosalie jumps into the convo and beats him to the punch. She throws a couch pillow at my head playfully, causing me to send her my trademark glare. She and I burst with laughter, resulting in a joyous laugh from the entire group.

"Jasper knows exactly how to get to you, Bella." Rosalie says, rolling her eyes. "You're such a jealous bitch."

"Yeah…" Jasper agrees, reaching to pull me back towards his lap. "But she's cute when she's jealous."

"I won't be cute for long if you keep talking about fucking Lauren in front of me."

He dips his face to my neck and pecks me there. "Do you want me to talk about fucking you instead?"

I want to frown and act like I'm still mad, but I can't help eating up his attention. I know Lauren can see us from where she's positioned. I want her to get any thoughts about fucking Jasper tonight out of her head right now. He's here with me. That's the end of the story.

Suddenly, Edward sits up. His eyes are blazed and his features slack, but he still manages to express his ire. He snatches the blunt out of Jasper's hands. He's managed to seal it, but looking at it you can tell there's too much weed stuffed inside. Some of it is going to come spilling out as soon as it's fired up.

"Damn, what the fuck?" Edward scowls. "Jasper you used all that weed to roll one blunt?"

"Here." Jazz tosses Edward my lighter, ignoring his annoyance. "Just hit the damn blunt dude."

"Nah, let Bella hit it first." Rosalie jokes. "She needs to loosen up."

"Get crazy." Jacob clarifies, chuckling to himself.

Jasper receives the blunt from Edward and puts it to my lips, keeping me close and pressed against his heated body. "I love when you let crazy Bella out to play."

My body becomes impossibly warm. It fills with a heat so intense that my skin begins to blister. My lips crack apart until they are stretched and molded into a grin. Sensing my acquiescence, the group begins to cheer and root with excitement.

I vaguely hear someone say, "Let the party begin."

And so it does.

Before I know it, I'm dancing around the room with Rosalie and Alice. Then, I'm in the kitchen taking shots from Edward's hidden stash of tequila. Then, Jacob is holding my hair back in the bathroom. Then, I'm making out with Jasper. And then, I don't know anything at all anymore.

 **-LS-**

 **Edward Pov**

I am disoriented when I awaken.

The morning sun casts a stream of light directly onto my face, causing me to shield my eyes with the back of my hand. The first thing I notice is the pounding in my head. My brain begins to richocete around my skull, causing a dull ache to settle in my forehead.

The lingering pang delays the opening of my eyes. I remain immobilized in bed. I try to find comfort against the luxe pillowcases. There is none. No matter how I lay my head feels like it's about to fucking explode.

I sit up to take in my surroundings.

At first, the light is too much for my eyes. It sends a searing pain shooting to the back of my head. I groan quietly and try to make sense of the dark purple wallpaper. I'm not in my apartment. That much is obvious.

"Do you want Tylenol or Ibuprofen?"

The sudden voice startles me, but I force myself not to jump. I find Rosalie standing in the doorway of the room. That's when I realize that I'm at her house. Bits and pieces of last night come crashing into me, and I begin to understand how I ended up inside of her bed.

Last night she needed a ride home. Her mom called during the party and said she'd be working until morning. She needed someone at home to watch Rosalie's little sister, Carmen. I was drunk but Rosalie wasn't so she convinced me to let her drive my Volvo home. I said yeah but only under the condition that I got to ride with her.

Somehow, we got to her room and we started watching television.

Being alone with her wasn't a big deal. I'd kicked it solo with Rosalie on plenty occasions. I'd been in her bedroom on plenty occasions. We were best friends so none of that shit really mattered to me. I'd just come to her house last night to chill. I was high as hell and my stomach was full of tequila. My brain could barely interpret what was going on with the television, let alone come up with a plot to get into Rosalie's pants.

But some time between the second movie, and my third time dozing off, Rosalie's dainty little hands began to wander. First she was playing in my hair, and the next second she was groping my dick.

The rest is history.

"Shit." I mumble, shaking my head with a lopsided grin. "What did you do to me last night, Rosalie?"

"Nothing too horrible." She saunters over to the bed with a sly smile.

Her long, blond hair is disheveled and all over her heed. Her torso is covered with my Supreme hoodie and nothing else. The black fabric causes her milky skin to pop with contrast. I tilt my head slightly to the side, watching with interest as she approaches.

There's a glass of water in one of her hands and two pill capsules in the other. My smile stretches further across my face. Rosalie has always been a lifesaver. Well, all of the girls really. I'm not sure how Em and I would survive living on our own without them.

Neither of us are the responsible type, which is why my mother had such a difficult time agreeing to let us move out. If Esme knew how careless we truly were; she'd have my dad breaking the lease on our apartment today. It's comical really.

Em and I are always late paying bills. Our electric has been cut off numerous times. For some reason, we can never keep track of due dates. We forget that bills exist, honestly. It's just not something that crosses our minds —not until we come home to a cold, dark apartment that is.

"I think you should do Tylenol." She says, dropping the blue capsule into my open palm. I smirk and reach for her, but she shakes her head. "Make sure you drink that whole cup of water."

I watch her meander towards the en suit. She leaves the door wide open, allowing me a direct view of the shower and toilet. Rosalie doesn't say anything. She simply slips her arms out of my hoodie, and takes a naked strut to the shower.

My eyes widen at the sight of her naked body. It's picturesque. I've seen her in bathing suits before and I guess I even saw her naked last night, but this sober view of her body is nothing like I would have ever imagined. She's perfect from head to toe.

My dick stirs beneath my basketball shorts. It begins to harden as I ponder following Rosalie into the shower. The idea is a compelling one. I would love to fuck Rosalie sober. I mean, who wouldn't? She's one of the prettiest girls in Forks.

The only problem is that I'm not sure what's going on in Rosalie's head. I don't know what all of this means to her. I was drunk last night. She wasn't. That means she'd initiated everything that happened between us. If it were left to me, we would have fallen asleep watching Netflix.

Clearly, it hadn't be left up to me last night.

Now, I know I must talk to Rosalie about all of this. The impending conversation makes my head feel heavy. I'm not nervous about it. I just don't know what to expect from Rosalie. For all I know, the sex wasn't even a big deal to her. Maybe she'd been horny last night, and it was just convenient that she had a male in bed with her.

I _could_ continue on with our friendship without bringing it up. That's probably what Emmett or Jasper would do in a situation like this. I don't think Jasper and Bella have ever discussed the terms of their relationship. It's been almost three years since they started fucking with each other, and their title is no more defined than it was sophomore year. They just fuck each other and ignore everything that comes along with it - the jealousy, the feelings, the complications.

It's not in my nature however, to not understand the feelings and thoughts of those around me. I can't go forward assuming that Rosalie is okay with the way that we hooked-up. My mind won't rest until I know for sure. That means sitting down and talking about it. I'm a conversationalist. I just don't say a lot. My expertise is listening to other people express their thoughts.

A vibration begins on top of Rosalie's nightstand, whisking away my thoughts about last night. I reach towards my cell phone as the screen flashes and reveals an image of Emmett. I want to answer his call to dispel this silence between me and Rosalie, but I figure it wouldn't be appropriate to do so right now. I don't want her to think that I'm trying to evade her. I just don't quite know what to say right now.

I need some time to mull things over in my head.

My phone continues to ring. I decide to talk with Emmett when I head home.

"I'll be over later." Rosalie says suddenly, causing me to lift my eyes towards the en suite.

I can't see her body but I can make out the curves and grooves of her silhouette. The curtain is not shy about revealing her figure. She bends forward to shut off the shower, and the water ceases falling immediately.

Before the silence can permeate, I quickly stand to my feet. "You don't want me to wait for you?"

I don't know why I ask. I just kind of expect Rosalie to say yes. It wouldn't be weird or anything. We hang out together on a regular basis. Nothing's really changed between us besides the fact that we had sex.

Still, it feels like something is different.

It might just be in my head. I've been known to be an over-thinker. My mother has always joked about my thoughts taking control of me. I don't know. I guess I'm just one of those tortured, introspective types. Girls seem to dig it. The less I say, the more they flock. The thing about me though is that I may not say anything out loud, but there is definitely always noise inside of my head.

Rosalie doesn't step out of the shower. She forgot to take a bath towel into the bathroom with her. "My mom is going to be home in an hour. You know she doesn't like boys spending the night."

"Okay, well just text me later." I offer lightly, though there's much more that I would like to say. I just don't have the words yet. "I'm inviting everyone over for a mini kick-back." I grab my bomber jacket off the floor, stalling a little more time. "O.T.F"

"Only the family." She confirms.

Last night was a party for everyone to enjoy. I didn't have a guest list. I told everybody I knew to pop out and to bring someone with them. My apartment was packed like a can of sardines. There was barely enough oxygen for everyone to share.

However, the event proved to be a success.

Tonight I'm having another get-together, but I'm only inviting my closest friends. This is how I plan to spend the entire summer. We only have one more together before our lives change forever. I have to make sure these last three months are unforgettable. Not just for me, but for my friends as well.

The car ride home is a calming one. I feel much more comfortable outside of the confines of Rosalie's bedroom. Her walls were ridiculing me. The dark purple, the smooth wall paper, it reminded me of how much I didn't know about last night —And that bothered me immensely.

I want to talk to her about everything that happened between us. Having that conversation is literally the only thought that my mind can process. I won't be completely settled until we get it out of the way. That's just how I am. I need clarity. Until then, the fresh air is enough to refresh me. I welcome the cool wind as I maneuver the Volvo across the freeway. It doesn't take long to get home.

I push through the front door and am greeted by Emmett and Jacob. "There he is!"

The two of them are stationed in front of the Xbox in the living room. The television is glowing with graphics of animated basketball players. They're engaged in a very intense game of 2k17. Emmett and Jasper are the athletic ones out of the bunch, but Jacob's pretty much mastered anything that has to do with technology. Playing video games with him is almost pointless since there is really no way to win against him. It's like he has the blueprints of every video game known to man ingrained into his psyche.

"What's up, boys?" I wonder, passing their duo on my way to kitchen. I'm starving and my stomach is rumbling. The alcohol from last night is beginning to catch up with me.

Emmett pulls his attention away from the game to send me a droll look. He kisses his teeth and squints his eyes at me accusingly. "Why don't you ever answer your fucking phone?"

"What did you want?"

"More milk." Bella says, capturing my attention. I failed to notice her when I made my entrance. I find her in the kitchen, bent and rummaging through the empty refrigerator. "Emmett and Jacob stuff food down their throats like a garbage disposal."

My lips quirk as she flashes her brown eyes at me. "You're still here, Bella?"

She doesn't answer my question. Instead, she stares at me blankly. Her dark eyes liven with a knowingness. I don't have to wonder about what she knows. Everyone is aware that I went home with Rosalie last night. They all have their assumptions and opinions about what happened between us. Em and Jacob were probably discussing the ordeal right before I came through the door.

They're not as bold with their curiosity as Bella is. "And where were you?"

She eyes me speculatively, as if she's searching for signs of dishonesty. Bella knows that I am not the type to lie. I _could_ be a good liar. I'm good at maintaining a nonchalant demeanor. No one would ever be able to tell whether or not I was telling the truth. It would take less effort to say that I hooked up with a random chick from our high school than to explain what happened between me and Rosalie.

It's tempting but I can't. I've never lied to Bella before. I won't start now. "Rosalie needed a ride home last night."

"So, you spent the night with her?"

"Did you spend the night with Jasper?" I ask calculatingly, cocking my brow to match my thoughtful expression.

Down the hallway, I hear the shower running in the bathroom. I assume that Jasper is behind the bathroom door, washing off Bella's strawberry-scented touch. I grin when her careful, porcelain expression cracks apart. A frown erupts from within her, and crawls into the corners of her pink lips.

Bella has a jealousy problem. Everyone knows it. It's like her envy consumes her. It makes her irrational because along with her jealousy comes her narccism. Bella does a lot of shit that she doesn't take responsibility for, but she's always the first person to call someone out on their shit.

"Don't do that." She says, smoldering her gaze.

"Do what, Bella?"

"Turn this back around on me." She explains. "You fucked Rosalie."

Bella and I have a weird relationship. We're extremely close and open with each other. I mean, we've known each other since we were in diapers. We grew up literally right beside each other. It's funny because we went through that crush stage where we did all that" first time stuff" with each other.

I popped her cherry on her fourteenth birthday, I beat the shit out of her first real boyfriend when I saw him shove her against a locker during one of their petty arguments, and once when we were really drunk I promised her that she'd be my wife one day.

It's safe to say that Bella and I have mixed feelings for each other. Unlike her and Jasper, our relationship has remained entirely platonic over the years. We have the chemistry. We just don't have the courage. It's a lot more complicated between me and Bella than it is between her and Jasper.

"I fucked you too."

"Yeah, four years ago…" Bella scoffs at me. She's brushing me off because she knows that it gets underneath my skin, and if Bella loves anything, it's getting underneath someone's skin. "In the backseat of your mother's car." She continues her complaint, eyeing me with a challenge that cannot conceal itself behind her humor. "I couldn't even get your bed."

"Rosalie didn't get my bed either." I say pointedly. "I fucked her inside of _her_ bed."

Her eyes brighten but she tries to hide that she is satisfied by my news. "Does that mean your bed is reserved?"

Bella doesn't like to admit that she likes me a lot more than she openly displays. I never call her out on her feelings. There wouldn't be a point. She does a good job at revealing stuff to me without even saying much. Bella's an open book. She always has been. She always will be.

Only those who don't really know her think she's difficult to read.

"Maybe." I say casually, smirking when she rolls her eyes.

Bella isn't the only one who can keep their feelings bottled up.

"Hey dude." Jasper bounds into the kitchen; fresh-faced and golden-haired. Both Bella and I shift our attention onto him. He's smiling at us both, completely uninterested in the conversation we were having before he made his way into the room. "What's the word for tonight?"

"We're getting fucked up again." I laugh when Jasper's eyes widen.

"Damn, you're really serious about making this summer epic."

"Unforgettable." I correct, bypassing his steely gaze.

My eyes land on Bella's instead. There is compliance within her stare.

"Unforgettable." She agrees.


	2. Chapter 2

**I know it's been awhile but life slowed down and inspiration struck.**

 **Read, Recommend, and Review**

 **XOXO**

* * *

 **Ch. II**

 **Jasper POV**

The summer has always been my favorite season.

I don't know what it is. Life just gets easier around this time. There's no school, there's no responsibility. It's like the chaos in life almost stops. For a few months, I can get a peace of mind. I mean, I know when August hits it's going to be a whole different story, but until then I just want to be content.

I've always spent my summer vacation with Emmett and Edward. Their mother, Esme Cullen, would fix up the guest room in their house especially for me. I'd stay with them all summer, every summer. It never failed. Their home became sort of like a sanctuary for me. I've never told Edward and Emmett, but becoming their friend was the best thing that ever happened to me.

My life isn't like theirs.

My father isn't a rich plastic-surgeon and my mother isn't the modern-day version of Marion Cunningham. I didn't come from a home that served hot, home-cooked meals for dinner every night. At my house I never knew when my next meal would come. It always depended on how high my mother was on the given day. Sometimes she was able to function; other times she was entirely incoherent.

My parents have been drug addicts for as long as I can remember. It's still weird admitting that. Everyone in Forks knows by now. My family history is a trending topic in this town, especially since I'm so close to the Cullens. They're like celebrities here.

I guess I'm pretty famous around Forks as well, but I don't really like to think about it.

I just try to live my life the best way that I can. It definitely gets hard at times, but I don't let life defeat me. That's not the role I play. I'm the person who's always easy-going, smiling, and happy. That's what my friends expect out of me, so that is who I have to be.

The only person who has seen a glimpse of my somber side is Bella, and that's only because she's the type who just _has_ to talk about feelings, dreams, and other emotional bullshit. There have been times where I was literally in the middle of fucking her and out of nowhere she started asking me how I felt about her and our "relationship".

I've opened up to her about my family and my goals, but I've never told her how I truly feel about her.

To be honest, I don't know how I feel about Bella. It's obvious that I have a soft spot for her. I don't treat her how I treat other girls that I mess around with, but at the same time I don't treat her how I would treat someone that I saw myself having a future with.

I don't see a future with Bella. I know it's not meant to be. She knows it too but she's not going to give up on me. Bella has a love for me that she wants to bloom and blossom. I'm not going to let it get that far though. I can't give her what she needs out of a man, so I don't want her to waste her energy on me. If today she decided that she didn't want to fuck around with me any longer, I wouldn't spend one second trying to change her mind.

That's just me though.

" _What are y'all doing?"_

A feminine voice wafts into my ear and drags me away from my thoughts. I look up from my iPhone screen, realizing where I am. This is Edward and Emmett's apartment. I'm standing in the kitchen with the boys. We're all leaning over the granite island, ignoring the empty bottles of alcohol that lay scattered across the counter.

The girls have just walked into the room. Alice is the first person I see. Her raven-colored hair is sitting on top of her head in two, short pigtails. She has bright red lipstick coating her lips, causing the smile she flashes in my direction to sparkle and glow. I give her a nod of recognition, and switch my eyes onto Bella.

She's walking beside Rosalie with a pensive expression. I'm not sure if she's looking that way because she's still pondering Edward's escapades from last night, or if she's concerned about the scene she just walked into.

Naturally, she comes and stands beside me. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her into my side. I watch Rosalie cross the kitchen and post up next to Edward. Out of my peripheral, Bella's face tightens with displeasure. I want to laugh and make a joke at her expense but now is not the right time to do so. I decide to wait until later. Between Bella and Edward's bottled up feelings; there's always room to make up a joke.

"What are you guys up to?" Alice wonders, watching James fill up a slew of measuring cups with codeine cough syrup.

Edward smirks at the weariness inside of her eyes. "James is making dirty sprite, Ally-Cat."

Dirty Sprite is called "lean" on the streets. The name is accurate because once you drink it you'll be so fucked up that controlling your body becomes a non-existent skill. You'll start leaning, literally. The shit makes you numb and sluggish like a zombie. I've never tried it but James and Edward have. They claim that it's a high unlike any other, but like the girls I'm apprehensive about dabbling in drugs that affect your consciousness so heavily.

Bella frowns but it's a curious frown. "Where'd you get the promethazine?"

Dirty Sprite basically consists of promethazine syrup, which contains a copious amount of codeine.

The syrup is measured and mixed with a drink, usually a lemon-lime soda, sometimes with Fanta. Then, jolly ranchers are added to the concoction to make it sweeter. It's typically a dirty purple color. Hence the name.

James lifts his cloudy, blue eyes. If I weren't so keen at noticing details, I'd mistake them for grey. I don't know what it is about James. He's never sober enough to express himself, but it's clear that he hasn't been truly happy since we were in grade school.

He reminds me a lot of my mother and father.

"Mike Newton's uncle owns a pharmaceutical company in Port Angeles." Edward says, keeping his attention focused on James's work. I can't lie. I'm a bit mesmerized by the purplish liquid as well. My eyes follow the violet waves as they slosh around the bottle they're contained in.

James moves his head from side to side, staring at the concoction with mixed emotions. "One pint of this shit is four hundred dollars."

I slide my eyes away from the lean and study James insead. His brows furrow as he shakes up the bottle, causing an eruption of fizz and foam to brew within. I want to ask him why he looks so disappointed.

Is it because the money he spent on these drugs won't be worth it in the end?

Is it because he knows that no matter how fucked up he gets it won't take away his pain?

I don't speak my questions into existence. I nudge his shoulder and put on a silly face. "The perks of being a rich underachiever, huh?"

James and Edward were both born into wealthy families. James's father is an aerospace engineer. I don't know what that means or what his line of work entails, but James has always been taken care of. He's never had to want for nothing. The funny thing is that James isn't even from Forks. His family actually lives in an affluent city called Mount Vernon, which is at least four hours away from Forks.

The only reason he grew up with us is because his parents didn't have time to raise a child _and_ tend to their blossoming careers. They sent him to live with his aunt on his mother's side, which just so happens to be Rosalie's mom.

It's like he's been stuck between two worlds his entire life; I wonder which one makes him feel the most at home.

"Are you going to sip?" He asks the question in general, but he ends up looking at me.

My chest immediately begins to tighten. It's weird because I have no problem drinking alcohol or smoking weed, but I practically have an anxiety attack every time someone propresitions me with anything else. I'm afraid of resembling my parents even slightly. I can't let myself become overly friendly with the idea of venturing into new drugs. I don't want to turn into them.

That's my biggest, most troubling fear.

I blink apprehensively. "I don't know dude."

James and Edward are both looking at me. There's no expectancy in their eyes. They know me so they're aware of my qualms. I switch between James's foggy eyes and Edward's jaded emeralds, chuckling nervously when James untwists the top to his bottle.

The soda fizzes and races to the top, spilling over the outside of the bottle. I watch the liquid stream down the green plastic like a volcano spewing purple lava. The color mixture offends my eyes and I turn away as James takes his first swig.

"No pressure." Edward says, patting my back.

He's right. I never feel pressured to join Edward and James. They've done just about every drug known to man, and have always respected my decline in offer when they've invited me along. That's why I like being their friend. We understand each other.

We understand things about each other that sometimes others can't comprehend, that sometimes our _own_ selves can't comprehend.

I don't think Edward and James really know why they can't function unless they're high … but I do.

It seems like they're just two, spoiled teens on the surface. They have so much money that they stay with the latest fashions, the newest technology, and the fastest cars. Everybody wants to be their friend. Everybody wants to fuck them. Everybody loves them. If they wanted, they could take off right now and travel to any part of the world. They can have literally anything they want. They're set … for life.

It's like they already have everything that all the normal people have to work their entire lives to get. At just eighteen, with no effort at all, they've experienced everyone's idea of happiness. The sad part is that the two of them are still not happy.

"Don't do that shit, Jazz." Alice says disapprovingly. Her blue eyes sparkle. "Edward and James are going to kill themselves."

Rosalie silently absorbs Alice's displeasure. She's standing beside Edward, staring at him with concern. I note how she doesn't express her censure out loud to him. She knows it's not her place.

"They can't stick to normal shit like marijuana." Bella snaps.

She's looking at Edward too. And just like Rosalie; Bella knows it's not her place to criticize Edward. Bella however, never quite stays in her place. She's always doing a little too much. That's just how she is. I don't expect her to change any time soon.

"Five years from now, you two are going to be strung out on some street corner." She says, frowning as they ignore her and continue to sip. "Don't beg any of us for money either. We're not going to be responsible for your addiction."

Her words are meant to be spiteful and they are, but everybody is used to Bella saying mean shit. Only on rare occasions does any of us ever step up and put her in her place. A quick glance across the room tells me that she's at least rubbed the majority of us the wrong way. Her little quip has bothered me for sure. I can feel the annoyance flowing through my system.

"Shut up, Bella." I say, causing her to shrug my arm from around her shoulders. Her dark eyes snap up to mine, daring me to speak against her again. She has taken offense and it blazes through her reaction. "That's not something to joke about."

Bella readies herself for a response. She's always ready to defend herself, even when she's wrong. This is something she's been doing since we were children. Her mouth drops open and her tongue flicks, but someone beats her to the punch.

"We should go see a movie tonight..." Jacob suggests, in an obvious attempt to lead the conversation away from an argument.

Everyone knows that Bella and I will go back and forth until we're blue in the face.

She switches her eyes onto Jake, softening her angry expression. "No can do."

"Why not?"

"You mean besides the fact that Edward and James are about to be slumped?" Bella rolls her eyes.

"Edward and James can control themselves."

She smirks a little, lifting her slender shoulders. "Well, Esme told me to let you guys know she wants us over for dinner."

All of us go quiet as we wait for Bella to laugh and give away her joke. She doesn't. Her face stays set in stone. Her eyes are serious and unrelenting. The only thing that changes about her is the smugness at her mouth. It deepens as her lips stretch into a pointed smile.

"Fuck." Emmett curses, eyeing his brother speculatively.

It doesn't take long for lean to take its effect. Normally, it depends on the amount of codeine in the lean mixture. James and Edward are not rookies, so their codeine to soda ratio is a little haphazard. I can already see where the drug has slowed down Edward's actions. His face moves like quicksand. It falls slow and snail-like.

"Why didn't you tell us that before I started drinking this shit?" His voice comes out coherent but slurred.

Edward is Esme's most prized possession. She'll never admit it, but Edward is her favorite son. She swears that she loves all her boys the same, including me, but everyone has noticed that she brightens up just a bit more whenever Edward is around. Her world revolves around him. There's no way she's not going to notice that he's on something. Knowing Esme, she'll fuck around and have a heart attack if she finds out her golden boy has such dirty habits.

"Because I know it's going to be funny watching you try to act like you're not high."

Edward attempts to shake his head, but he stops halfway through the motion. "That's evil, Bella."

"Payback is a bitch." She beams, undeterred by Edward's inebriated censure.

James look towards Bella with confusion. "What's he being paid back for?"

I look towards Bella as well, wondering if she's going to respond to James's inquiry with honesty. She doesn't open her mouth to speak. Her little hands dig into the kangaroo pocket of her hoodie. She pulls out her cellphone and gives it all of her attention, ignoring the fact that we're all waiting on her to say something.

I think we're all confused as to why she wouldn't say anything to stop Edward from fucking himself up, especially since she knew beforehand that his mom wanted us to come over for dinner. Obviously, her intentions were vindictive and bitchy, which is sadly not surprising when it comes to Bella.

"Little, green-eyed Bella." I say, smirking at the way her eyes involuntarily shift in Edward's direction.

I'm not the only one aware that Bella is lowkey hella upset about Rosalie and Edward having sex. It's practically written across her forehead in bold, black letters. I think it's funny, considering how just last night she was begging to have my dick inside of her. Edward hadn't crossed her mind when she was screaming my name. Now, all of a sudden she's feeling some type of way.

Bella clearly doesn't know what she wants.

Or maybe she does … who knows?

"Shut up, Jasper." She demands, rolling her eyes towards the ceiling.

I smile with my teeth and reach out for her. She allows me to grip her hand and pull her back into my side. I tuck her underneath my arm, keeping her close, inhaling her strawberry scented perfume.

Her eyes squint at me, ridiculing the challenge resting beneath my curved eyelashes. "Why don't you make me shut up?"

Her demeanor immediately lightens up. All you have to do is give Bella attention to satisfy her. I learned that a long time ago also. As long as the world is revolving around her, Bella's displeasure is non-existent. But as soon as someone else gets a little bit of her spotlight Bella's whole sense of self-worth crumbles. It's like she can't be truly happy unless everyone has their eyes on her.

I have often wondered how she developed this extreme need of attention, but I can't recall ever really asking her outright. It has something to do with how her parents raised her. I know that for sure. Mr. and Mrs. Swan divorced when Bella was just an infant so she grew up in two households. Her mother, now Renee "Dwyer", moved back to Arizona with her mother. Her father, Charlie Swan, stayed in Forks. That left Bella with no choice but to circulate through both states and households. Unfortunately, neither of her parents really considered her a high priority.

That's why Bella is so fucked up in the head now … she's never been loved the right way.

"You're so fucking annoying." She laughs as she says this, narrowing her eyes at me playfully.

"That's not the word you used to describe me last night."

Bella doesn't respond to my jab. Instead, she tells us all to be on time and at Esme's house in thirty minutes. That doesn't leave us with much time to get ready, but we all simultaneously burst into action, attempting to make ourselves somewhat presentable.

The last thing we need is for Esme to worry over us, so until dinner is over we'll pretend everything is copacetic.

We're all good at pretending.

 **-LS-**

 **Rosalie POV**

The drive to Mrs. Cullen's house is an interesting one.

Alice and I ride with Emmett, Jacob, and James. Bella rides with Jasper. Edward decides not to come because there's just no way he can hide that he's high. Esme notices everything about him. It would only take a quick glance at his features to conclude that there's something foreign resting in his system. That would ruin the dinner for everyone, especially Esme.

It's funny how as soon as the group has divided everyone starts speaking their true feelings about the ordeal that occured before we left the boys' apartment.

Alice turns the radio dial to the left, lowering the volume of the music that blasts out of Emmett's thunderous speakers. She turns towards the back seat where Jake, James, and I sit; cocking her sculpted eyebrows towards me. "Is Bella getting on anyone else's nerves more than usual?"

The car is silent, even the music seems to quiet. None of us really enjoy talking behind each other's backs. We may argue a hell of a lot , but our group has always maintained a certain loyalty among the members. We don't let anyone from the outside talk shit. We'd go to war behind each other when it comes to the rest of the world, but the situation becomes a degree more complicated when someone from the inside talks shit. You're then inclined to either agree or disagree with their statements, which establishes "sides" and whole lot more bullshit that no one wants to deal with.

Jake sighs and pulls out his phone, illuminating the strain on his face. "Bella is the way that she is, Alice. She's never going to be particularly easy to deal with."

Alice doesn't like that no one has immediately agreed with her. She wants to voice her vexation towards Bella, but she doesn't want to be the only one complaining. It'll make her feel more at ease to have other people on her side. That way it won't seem like she's being catty and starting drama.

"Leave it to Jacob to be Bella's personal saver … always taking her side." Her tiny voice is influenced by her annoyance. Though her face remains relatively neutral; Jake's refusal to jump on her bandwagon has obviously ignited her motivation to argue.

I don't like having static amongst the members of our group because conversations like this always become the result, and there's no possibility that what's said behind someone's back will remain hidden from them. I peek at Jake out of the corner of my eye, watching the way his fingers slide across the screen of his Iphone. I wouldn't be surprised if he was texting Bella right now.

He must feel me watching because he lifts his eyes towards mine. His thumb presses the power button on the side of his phone, causing his cellular device to lose its illumination. The car is filled with darkness again.

"I'm not saying that she was right, but Edward's the one sipping on lean like it's no big deal." Jake tries to keep judgment out of his voice, but it's clear that he's standing up for Bella at Edward's expense. "He's going to have to take responsibility for his own actions."

When the conversation began I had not intended on participating. However, I find it unfair of Jacob to bring Edward's name into the discussion. Edward partaking in drugs is nothing new; neither is Bella being a bitch. The difference is that Edward doesn't affect the entire group by being high. That's between him and himself.

Bella pulling stunts like she did today puts all of us in a compromising position. Mrs. Cullen is a mother figure to me, just like she is to Jasper, and everyone else that Emmett and Edward consider their friends. I don't want to disappoint my own mother or see her upset, so why would I want to disappoint Esme?

Bella's only being petty right now because she knows Edward and I had sex last night and she just can't take it. She's so used to being the center attention among the boys that her whole world has caved in on itself now that she understands everyone isn't secretly dying to have her.

It's actually sort of amazing how Bella can make every situation about herself, even when it literally has nothing to do with her. I made a move on Edward last night because we only have one summer left before everything changes, and I couldn't let the opportunity pass to see if the trust I had in him exceeded a platonic level.

And honestly, no one has ever touched me the way Edward touched me.

"And who's going to take responsibility for Bella's actions?" I wonder, rhetorically of course, yet I know someone is bound to respond to my question.

Jake sighs again; this time in resignation. He doesn't want to debate with the both of us over Bella. His reason for responding to Alice was to diffuse the possibility of a dispute; not to trigger it. "Why don't you two talk to Bella about it, then?"

I scoff beneath my breath, sharing a knowing look with Alice. "There's no talking to Bella about her shortcomings."

"Then you might as well save your breath because talking to us about them isn't going to ease your frustrations." There's a decidedness in Jake's boyish voice that indicates his refusal with going back and forth. He pulls his earphones out of the pockets of his joggers and carefully plugs his ears, turning his head to stare out at the dark roads that blur past us.

Sometimes I wonder why he's so faithful to Bella. I've never seen her reciprocate that affection.

The car is quiet for the next few minutes and then Alice speaks again. "Emmett, why do you let Edward do those kind of drugs anyway?"

Emmett and James have been quiet for the duration of the car ride. We're almost to Mrs. Cullen's house now. I have a feeling they both were hoping to arrive before being roped into an unpleasant conversation. They hadn't voiced their opinions when Alice posed her first question for a reason. Now that Alice has addressed Emmett directly, he has no choice but to speak about how he feels. His broad shoulders sag from the driver's seat, visibly inconvenienced by Alice's choice to confront him.

Jame's however, is the person who decides to talk next. His entrance into the conversation surprises me, especially since he's usually the person who remains entirely impartial throughout our group disagreements. His voice is flat with indifference but heavily accented with the affects his dirty sprite has taken on his body. "Edward is his own man. He can do what he wants."

Alice turns back around to face front and sinks into her seat. She's about 3x's more upset now that a second person has jumped to the defense of someone she was trying to throw under the bus. She wants to talk about members of the group who are not here for what reason I do not know. I'm surprised she hasn't dragged Jazz's name into the conversatio yet. Then again, she never really has anything negative to say about Jasper.

"You just don't want anybody to stop him because then you wouldn't have a partner in crime, and you'd actually probably start feeling bad about being high all of the time."

The car goes silent. Trepidation fills my body and clogs my pores because I know how ugly this conversation can potentially become. Alice is my best friend but James is my blood by birthright. If she has offended him; I'll have no choice but to speak up in his honor. That's the last thing I want to do.

The stillness in the car is not settling. It's the very opposite. My chest feels tight as I twist the rings on my index fingers back and forth, giving me something to do with my hands to keep them from fidgeting with anxiety. I'm waiting to see how James will respond. I think we all are.

Jacob pulls one of his earbuds out of his ear, and I do not detect music playing from the speaker. Either he put them in to keep us from talking to him, or he wanted to block out just enough noise to keep our voices from interferring with the one in his head.

The car is so quiet now that his curiousity must be peaked, even he wants to know who will speak next.

"Ally-Cat , you always think you know something…" James's voice is not unpleasant when it fills the open space. It's hushed and mellow. There's no indication in his tone that Alice's words upset him, but the easy expression he wears across his face looks a bit stormy now in this dark car. "When you literally have no true knowledge on what you're talking about."

It's quiet now … quieter than before.

But it doesn't matter because we pass one, two, three houses … and we're at our destination.

 _Why does it feel much further than it ever was before?_


End file.
